Despite having just one full practice and a walk through to prepare for its annual meeting with North Plainfield, the South Plainfield High School football team posted the most lopsided victory in the longtime series between the rivals.

Senior running back Zach DelVecchio rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries to lead the Tigers to a 40-0 drubbing of the Canucks at Frank R. Jost Field on Wednesday night.

The win was South Plainfield’s second in the past 15 years over North Plainfield, which leads the all-time series 28-16-1.

The schools, who have battled 45 times since 1956 with the series taking a hiatus from 1984-2001, met for the first time on Thanksgiving Day in 2002 and were supposed to square off for the 17th consecutive year on the holiday this season, but South Plainfield lobbied to play the game earlier in November, much to the chagrin of North Plainfield, which reluctantly obliged.

“Their goal is to beat South Plainfield,” South Plainfield head coach Gary Cassio said. “My goal is to get in the playoffs and advance. I’m not trying to be disrespectful to this game. To me, it would be more meaningful if we could play in the regular season. I’ll start a new rivalry with them. Let’s play Week 0. I would love to play them during the regular season. But after losing a playoff game, what am I doing?”

Unlike North Plainfield (1-10), whose last game was Nov. 1, the Tigers (6-5) were coming off a 28-7 loss to Rahway in the North 2 Group III semifinals.

South Plainfield had advanced in the playoffs with a stunning first-round upset of West Essex, which entered that contest on an 18-game winning streak, the state’s longest.

“They can step on the field with anybody,” Cassio said of his players. “We may not be the most talented team and we may not be the most athletic, but by far we have the biggest heart.”

Cassio’s upperclassmen, who were sophomores when the Tigers nearly upset heavily favored Rumson-Fair Haven in a sectional final three years ago, desperately wanted to end their careers on a high note.

The coach said he never saw his players hit as hard as they did against North Plainfield on Wednesday night in what appears to be the last November meeting between the schools.

“They were fired up,” Cassio said. “They wanted to chew through steel. They were ready to go and they didn’t want to let up. They didn’t want to come out of the game.”

North Plainfield was limited to three first downs and 90 yards of total offense, 74 of which came through the air including 25 on the Canucks’ first play from scrimmage.

South Plainfield forced three turnovers – TJ Massaro had two picks and Dondre’ Tate also had an interception – and DelVecchio blocked a punt that set up a score. The Tigers amassed 359 yards from scrimmage including quarterback Sammy Nieves’ 120 all-purpose yards.

“We haven’t won against them,” DelVecchio said. “We really wanted this. We all played our hearts out. We’re a family around here.”

On the first play from scrimmage after Austin Scott returned DelVecchio’s blocked punt to the North Plainfield 28 yard line, Ashwin deGroot threw an option pass against the grain for a touchdown to Nieves, who was left unattended near the left sideline on the trick play as the Tigers took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

DelVecchio scored on runs of 44, 5 and 3 yards. Nieves threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Harvey and connected with Tate on a 47-yard scoring strike.

“Every game they came out and played their tails off,” Cassio said of his team. “I’m going to miss the heck out of these guys. I was close with my other senior classes but I was close with these guys. We did not have one disciplinary issue this year, and that’s a testament to these guys. These guys are great leaders. I love these kids.”

That affection was clearly reflected in the tear-filled eyes of two-way lineman Luke Niemeyer, who struggled to contain his emotions following his career-ending victory.

“I love my team and I love my coaches,’ Niemeyer said. “They’ve done a lot for me the past three years. It’s been a great three years here. It’s good to end the last one on top.”

Niemeyer said he hopes the underclassmen have learned from the senior class, whose legacy he eloquently encapsulated.

“We may not have the best players here,” Niemeyer said. “It’s more about the team than it is about the individual and the past three years I think we’ve embodied that.”